Battlefield 4: military shooters aren’t over-saturated, plenty left to do in that space, say DICE

Battlefield 4 is being showcased at E3 right now and DICE’s Patrick Bach has said he’s surprised by how much attention it’s getting. That’s because while he feels military shooters are no longer over-saturated, he reckons Sci-Fi is now the new big thing.

Speaking with IGN, Bach said on the matter, “Is it [over-saturated]? Today? Really? There are not that many [military shooters] out there, to be honest. A couple years ago, I would agree. But now people are moving away from that genre.

“We’re staying because we have more to do in that genre. And I think if you have a great game, it’s a great game. Period. It doesn’t mean you have to have the hypest or the coolest new stuff. Now, sci-fi is the s**t. Everyone is doing sci-fi. It takes a year, then it’s over-saturated because everyone is doing it and then everyone will move onto something else.

“I think great franchises stay where they think they should stay. You see Halo being sci-fi for many, many years, and now everyone else is doing sci-fi. So now it’s like, ‘well, now it’s boring because everyone else is doing it.’ Not because they are doing it, but because everyone else is doing it.”

Bach added that he was surprised to see Battlefield 4 getting so much attention at this year’s E3 because it’s a sequel amid some new IP out there. “I think, to us, the biggest fear is that we run out of ideas and lose steam when it comes to the passion of what we want to be,” he added.

“Looking at Battlefield 4 here at E3, we are actually surprised we get so much attention. Even though you could argue that it’s just the sequel to Battlefield 3, et cetera, et cetera, the genre’s declining, et cetera, et cetera.

“We’re seeing that people still want to play this game. They seem to enjoy this type of experience. I think it’s important to re-evaluate where you are and re-evaluate what you want to create.”

What do you think of the military shooter genre at present? Is it receding compared to previous years, and is Battlefield 4’s interested merited, despite Bach’s surprise? Let us know below.